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September 22, 2017As the doors open back up for school to start at VASJ, so do the doors for class retreats. During the week of September 10, the freshman class at VASJ was split into four different retreat groups. Each day, groups of about 40 freshmen gathered to get to know each other through fun activities and inspirational talks. The theme of this year’s freshman retreat was, “Once A Viking, Always A Viking.”
Retreats have been a tradition at VASJ for years and each year they continue to become something a student remembers even after they finish high school.
“The kids really start to feel a connection with the school on a deeper level,” says VASJ’s Director of Campus Ministry, Ms. Jill Latkovich. “They can feel what it means to be a Viking.”
Latkovich feels that the upperclassmen who serve as group leaders for the retreats play a big role in the overall experience.
“The passion the freshmen see from the upperclassmen gives them an example of what a Viking is,” Latkovich says. One upperclassman who stands out to Latkovich is senior Nova Jolly.
Nova is a member of the Christian Formation Peer Ministry team and helped plan the freshman retreat.
“They are the most wonderful group of kids… even the quiet kids are participating,” Nova says.
Nova believes the retreat can help the freshmen with skills they could use in the future, but only if they are willing to make the most of the experience.
“What you get out of high school is what you put into it,” Nova says. “In retreats, you have to be here.”
Nova believes that in order to have a good experience, the freshmen have to make it a good experience. She truly enjoys helping to facilitate the retreats.
“The day is going so fast, I don’t want it to end,” Nova says.
For freshman David Hoffmann, his favorite part of the retreat was the game “Ships and Sailors” where the students have to run back and forth in the gym and find partners to do silly gestures with. David was also impacted by one of the talks led by senior Anthony Dinunzio during the time when the girls and the boys split to talk about different topics.
“He said to live in the moment and always make it one to remember,” David says. “It was more relaxing, I think, to sit and talk to people instead of going to classes,
The freshmen have only experienced one retreat so far, but there are plenty more retreats planned for them in the future. Each retreat will get more and more memorable, but their freshmen retreat taught them how to be a Viking and that is one thing they will never forget.
Elizabeth Smith is a senior at VASJ. In addition to being a member of PR Club, Elizabeth is also involved in Cross country, Basketball, Softball, LIFE, Peer Ministry, NHS, and Ambassadors. In her free time, she enjoys reading, spending time with her family, and keeping in shape. After graduation Elizabeth plans to attend either Baldwin Wallace University or Edinboro University. She would like to play softball in college and major in Speech Pathology.
